I love to hate you
by Liaarh
Summary: Story centered around Haruka and Seiya and the hot chemistry between them.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The night was pleasant and refreshing for a summer evening. The breeze was bringing into the main ball room the smell of wild flowers from the gardens. Through the large open windows one could contemplate the silhouettes of exotic trees onto the star filled sky. Inside, the moon was casting mysterious shadows fighting with the light of hundreds of candles that adorned the art-nouveau hall.

The stage was set but the performers were missing. That was the night the Star Lights were making their comeback and through some twisted desire of fate, the party was hosted by the outer senshi at their mansion. Actually fate was not exactly what determined the outers to throw this press invading party that drew in public figures and socialites like a flock of moths to a burning light, it was a lot less complicated, and it was called Usaghi.

Three days earlier

Haruka was enjoying her new house. The gardens were beautiful and the garage spacious enough to house all of her motorized toys. They had moved there a month ago in a desperate attempt to get away from the crazy life of the city. Hotaru was attending a private school nearby, Michiru had enough space to practice her music and Setsuna was in and out of the mansion always checking on the time gate. As for Haruka, she didn't care much where the house was located: she had her ways to get around great distances in record time -and not always the most legal ones-.

The morning didn't seem any different than many others, that is until Haruka entered the house after her morning run through the gardens and heard Michiru talking on the phone. She looked agitated and excited at the same time, and though Haruka could hear parts of the conversation the main idea eluded her.

"Oh really ?... Are you serious? … When do they arrive? ...

Today… I see … That's great … I can't…"

Michiru continued her conversation and Haruka walked passed her, towards her rooms in need of a good shower. She smiled at Michiru and left her captivated by the mysterious call.

When she came back downstairs, rushing into the kitchen to get her beloved espresso she found Hotaru, Setsuna and Michiru talking loudly around the kitchen table. Haruka didn't pay any attention to the conversation and could only see the espresso machine: she could worry about anything else later now was the time for coffee. As Haruka poured espresso into a cup and brought it to her lips Miciru decided it was time to fill her in:

"Hey I have great news!"

"Good morning to you to! joked the blonde senshi",

"Good morning Haruka-chan Michiru answered still glowing with joy and excitement",

"Now what's the amassing news you have?"

"The Star Lights are coming back to Earth ! "

Haruka choked on her espresso. Now all the scattered fragments of phrases started to make sense in her head and she did not like the big picture at all.

"WHAT? WHY? It's been barely over 4 years since they left … it's way too soon to visit!"

Michiru chuckled and looked at her cousin amused. Haruka was not over her dislike of the Star lights even after the war was over and more than 4 years had gone by. The aqua senshi had a feeling it was all about a certain dark haired man that really liked to push the blonde's buttons … in all the wrong ways.

"Usaghi said it's a diplomatic mission: their princess sent them to strengthen the alliance between Kinmoku and our Solar System - Michiru answered - but my guess is they were seriously bored…"

"The restoration of their planet must be completed, Setsuna intervened, so there isn't much left to do…"

"But there ARE lots of things left to do…, Haruka complained,… like throwing themselves off some cliff or maybe read a book… even though for some of them those two actions might be similar… - the wind senshi was getting more irritated by the second – Anyway when do they leave?"

"Oh Haruka-chan, Michiru laughed, they aren't here yet and you already want them gone!"

The blonde was not amused and was searing at her cousin in demand of a serious answer. Half amused and desperately trying to concentrate the aqua senshi answered:

" I don't know. Usaghi said they wanted to experience the life on our planet again and enjoy all the things they didn't get to experience the last time they were here…so it's anybody's guess… "

Haruka froze with her espresso cup millimeters away from her lips.

"That might be a long time…They may never leave…"

"Don't be silly Haruka-chan! I'm sure they'll stay for a few months at most…visit a few places, relax a bit…"

"Stress out of her mind a certain short haired senshi", continued Setrsuna in a lower voice, and Michiru gave her a look that fully expressed she wasn't helping at all, and continued:

"They'll be gone before you know it!"

"I seriously doubt that…" Haruka decided to return her attention to the espresso and salvage at least the rest of the morning, the first part being ruined by three invading aliens.

The blonde started to chat to Hotaru, at least the teenager was not that excited about the Starlights, and tried to avert her attention to the problems the girl had in her teenager life. It wasn't difficult for Haruka to be captivated by the conversation with her adoptive daughter and it almost always had a calming effect on her, but the phone ringing and Michiru's first words after picking it up made her change her focus again.

"Hy Usaghi-chan!... You already told me that…, Michiru chuckled amused …Yeah I know…

They want to go on a tour as a band or something?… I see…"

Haruka did not like what she was hearing… but things were about to get worse:

"They want to get in contact with the press again… ,the aqua senshi continued,…They need publicity… Yeah that's right…A big comeback party or something is the best way to go… Oh you thought of a party too… - at that point Michiru's eyes locked with Haruka's – So not just any kind of party… I see… A party at our house ?"

Haruka froze but quickly recovered and started to signal to Michiru all the types of "NO" she could think of without actually screaming the word out loud. The aqua senshi continued to talk to Usaghi while clearly understanding her cousin's signals:

"Usaghi but we just moved here, and the house isn't completely furnished

… and we didn't finish unpacking yet …

… Yes, we have a ball room…

… Yes, it was already furnished when we got here…

… I know you want to help them Usaghi-chan…

… Usaghi don't start crying please…

… Usaghi I don't… Alright please just stop crying Usaghi-chan we'll do it…

… ok… don't worry it'll be fine…ok now… bye"

Michiru hung up the phone, and was still looking into Haruka's eyes.

"I couldn't say no… you heard… she blackmailed me…"

Haruka was angry but also a little amused: Usaghi really liked to get what she wanted and was using any method she could think of.

"Don't worry… I know…"

The blonde smiled: after all they were making their princess happy.

Friday

The last days had been chaotic for the senshi: invitations sent to every big producer, celebrity or press representative they could think of. Rumors of the Star Lights big comeback made the headlines and everybody was making assumptions to the reason they had left the spotlight so long ago; but what was really lighting up the media's imagination was the reason behind their decision to go public again after such a long time of total absence.

It was a battle of the most odd and highly improbable theories and the senshi were amused at how far from the truth they all were.

Seya was walking in the busy streets of Tokyo and enjoying the feeling of being back. He had arrived three days before, and even if their comeback had been announced, the media didn't spot him, so there wasn't a crowd of camera-happy paparazzi following his every move… at least not yet. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was staying at a very small and not high-class hotel under a false name, and nobody thought to look for him there, but maybe it was because he looked a little different than he did 4 years earlier. He wasn't a teenager anymore and that was obvious to anyone who looked at him: he was a few centimeters taller, his chest a little wider, his arms and legs a little more muscular, the lines defining his face harsher. He felt different too: the endless amount of energy he used to have was tamed and not so visible anymore, but it was still there and one could guess it's presence in his deep blue eyes like a steady underground river of emotion flowing secretly and fueling his actions.

He looked like he used to and at the same time he didn't: he was the man the teenager grew up to be; and that was why people on the streets labeled him as someone who really looked like Seiya Kou but surely didn't recognize the teenager idol in him.

He liked the anonymous and voyeur feeling of not being recognized, he could see how normal people lived their lives without interfering with them and he could be seen as just another ordinary man taking a walk, a damn attractive, sexy and somehow mysterious man but not an idol or a hero.

When he talked with his brothers about coming to Earth the idea was extremely appealing to him. Seiya wanted it because he was curious about something… and bored to death too…

The curiosity part was about Usaghi: back then during the war, he thought he was in love with her and left for his home planet convinced that he had lost the love of his life. When he returned on Kinmoku he got busy with the reconstructions, then he was busy with the diplomacy, he was busy with the administration of the kingdom and he was busy with what minor threats came their way.

He wasn't in pain and thought he didn't have time to think about Usaghi he pushed the love he felt to the back of his mind; but slowly things calmed down and he realized he was missing them all not just Usaghi; he felt that what was supposed to be the love of his life wasn't consuming him any differently than the feelings of friendship he had for the other senshi and realized that his desperate love was actually a desperate need of affection and friendship that he felt during those difficult days of war. Now, back on Earth, he had to convince himself, he had to know for sure if he could ever fall for Usaghi or it had been just a game of his imagination.

The second reason he wanted to come to Earth was very different from any of the reasons his brothers had: he was sick of playing the hero game. Back home all three of them were loved by everybody and at the same time worshiped and feared. The attention they were receiving was very similar to that of living gods: every single soul on their planet was trying to make them happy and satisfy all of their needs: they could have anything and even anyone, not a single person had the courage to challenge them. Seiya felt that the love of the people was transforming into a deep and uncontrollable fear.

While his brothers were enjoying the continuous and intense attention he was starting to feel uncomfortable: of course it was nice to be appreciated and loved and cherished but it was becoming a burden. Seiya couldn't have a normal conversation with anybody outside the castle: people froze at seeing him and barely dared to answer the questions they were asked; the women that came to the castle with diplomatic interests or just visiting were either completely unattractive or plainly throwing themselves into his or his brothers arms.

His life wasn't fun anymore and he was missing a good challenge… he loved to fight for what he wanted and lately that just wasn't happening anymore, so the idea to come visit the other senshi was very appealing.

His brooders wanted to have their star status again and loved the spotlight and the camera too much to just come and live a simple life. Seya didn't care that much if they wanted to pick up from where they had left the music industry years ago, things could never be as bad as they were back on Kinmoku, so he halfheartedly agreed to the big comeback party.

He stopped his steps on the sidewalk in front of a flower shop, and looked at the sky: it was getting late and he had a party to attend to. A sided smile formed on his lips and his eyes lit up with the pleasure of not knowing exactly how the night will progress: he enjoyed the feeling of mystery that was making it's way back into his life.

"This night's gonna be fun…" he whispered in a low voice still smiling, and the wind carried his words high above the streets of the city and melted them into the darkness of the summer night.

…

Haruka was seriously not enjoying the party and most certainly not having any fun. She was stuck near the main entrance to the ball room greeting the people that were arriving and engaging into small meaningless polite conversations just for the sake of being a good host. She hated it … deeply and sincerely…and it was all because of Michiru who couldn't resist Usaghi's request… wait … it wasn't Michiru's fault or Usaghi's… it was all because of three aliens that couldn't resist invading her planet… and her, up to that point, pleasant life.

The short haired blonde senshi wanted to show the Starlights how she really felt about them…but they weren't there yet… so her anger had to wait which meant it was getting greater by the minute.

The only thing she liked was the feeling of power she had in the dress she was wearing. She knew she looked provocative and the desire she ignited in man's eyes made her feel like a master with her slaves. She enjoyed seeing them almost in a trance when passing her by, the women that sometimes accompanied them looking at her with the deepest hate they could muster in their gaze.

She was smiling cocky and distant and the somewhat despising look in her eyes was contradicting her attempts at being a good host. Haruka knew that her attitude would get her into a heated conversation with the other senshi after the party – one aquamarine haired girl in particular - , but right now she did not care: that was her very particular way of protesting against the party.

Suddenly the crowd moved towards the main entrance to the ball room, the paparazzi were going mad, young girls were whispering fiercely and Haruka could hear a general mumble:

…" The Starlights are here!"…

…" It must be them!"…

…" They arrived!"…

The blonde shorthaired senshi walked towards the right side of the grand doors, leaned against the hardwood frame and crossed her arms. She was ready to welcome the reasons behind her annoying night.

A black limo pulled in front of the stairs that lead to the main entrance into the ballroom. A crowd of paparazzi and reporters quickly formed around the car and those inside moved towards the entrance to catch a glimpse at the awaited main guests of the party.

Without making everybody wait too long, the three Star lights got out of the limo smiling, posing and waving at the cameras. Actually two of them more than one: Haruka noticed Taiki and Yaten were making a show and loving it: they were loud and eager to receive the attention while Seya looked like he was almost trying to get away from it.

…"That's strange"… she thought to herself and continued observing them. Seya looked different to her and she couldn't put her finger on what it was, but without realizing it her eyes were captivated by the dark tall man that was rushing up the stairs. Haruka was curious and she always satisfied her curiosity.

As he entered the ballroom Seiya had the feeling of being watched but then again everybody in there was studying his every move. He thought that what he had felt didn't suite any of the excited famous or almost famous people he could see.

"I'm getting paranoid" he told himself and pushed the feeling aside.

"Hy Seya!" came a very excited voice from behind him and as he turned he saw all the inner senshi with big wide smiles on their faces so they all started chatting and laughing like they had just parted 30 minutes ago.

While the dark haired alien was trying to spot something different in the crowd, Haruka was making her way towards the bar. She was in desperate need of a drink: the night was getting even more unpleasant, she thought.

From near the bar she watched as the other two Star lights approached the group formed around Seya. All the senshi were there, except her of course, and were laughing loudly. Mina was concentrating all her attention on Yaten and seemed to be caught in a world of her own; Taiki was having an apparently serious conversation with Ami and Seya was flirting openly with all the other girls.

To Haruka the instant the dark haired alien dared to get closer to Usaghi than he did with the other girls, was like a declaration of war: she thought he was there to attack the love her princess felt for Mamoru. Haruka had to let him have a piece of her mind:

" he was not welcomed, he did not have a chance to win Usaghi over and Haruka hated the three of them, Seiya being the main focus of her dislike" - those were the simple messages the tall blonde decided to deliver the Star lights. So she approached Seya from behind and as she got closer started noticing all sort of details that puzzled her: he was taller than her and his entire body looked stronger than she remembered, his movements were fluid and confident; she could see through the fabric of his tux his lean muscles contracting and relaxing as he leaned forward to listen to what the girls were saying, one hand rested in the pocket of his trousers and he had a glass of Champaign in the other, he was gesticulating and his subtle moves emphasized his words, his voice was deep, sometimes husky and sometimes playful.

Haruka had to admit to herself: this man was hot! That's when she realized her body was responding to his: she was a little tense and her breathing accelerated and she was moving her hips more sensually as she was getting closer to him. Haruka was attracted to him and the realization of that fact only infuriated her so she got close enough to whisper in his ear:

"You should give up on the things that aren't made for you, Kou. Being rejected before doesn't mean it's gonna be less painful the second time it happens."

He opened his eyes a little wider in surprise at the acid line but recognized the voice immediately.

"And here it goes" he thought to himself amused and ready to fight a battle of wits and turned to face his long faithful enemy. But instead of seeing a woman dressed in a man's tux, when he turned he saw an incredibly feminine Haruka in a dress that showed her every curve and she sure had some.

He was surprised and couldn't stop himself from analyzing her: she was playing with a glass of Champaign in her left hand right above her full breasts, the dark blue dress she was wearing was simple and tight on her breasts and waist and it flowed away from her body from the mid thy down. The only decorative element it had was a 5 centimeter black band filled with crystals that decorated the cleavage of the dress and then transformed into two straps that ran over her shoulders and then went down and connected right above her toned ass. Seya could guess through the material of the dress her slightly hardened nipples and felt unconsciously the need to lick his lips.

Because the answer to her attack was nor reaching her, Haruka placed a defiant smile on her lips

"What's the matter Kou? Cat got your tongue?"

At the sound of her voice he realized he was studying her body a little too attentively and turned his gaze to meet hers. She was looking at him with one blonde eyebrow arched higher than the other and her cocky smile still on her lips.

He recognized that smile, those burning teal eyes and her ruffled sandy hair but the overall look startled him: she inspired sex! Her hair was ruffled in contrast to the rest of her outfit and looked like she had just got out of bad after a whole night of having sex, her lips were slightly parted inviting to be ravished, and her eyes half closed but still burning with passion. Seiya knew it was the passion of loving to fight him and the Star lights at the same time, but couldn't help but wonder if physical desire would transform her features in similar ways.

He grinned inwardly but only a playful smile reached his lips: "This was going to be interesting and fun" he thought and finally answered her attack:

"Nice to see you too Ten'ou, and as I know politeness isn't your strongest trait, I'm gonna be nice and ask first: How are you doing?"

She wasn't backing down that easily and her voice had an ironic feel to it:

"Oh, I'm just great! Except this silly party I have to throw for some pumped-ass aliens. They think they are the center of the entire freaking Universe and everything has to be laid at their feet. How childish and superficial is that?"

"Haruka!" Michiru intervened "Don't be rude!"

"Don't worry Michiru" Seiya turned his attention to the blue haired senshi " she's not rude, it's just her nature" and the sided smile widened on his face. Haruka was furious: the damned man just kept on pushing the wrong buttons and she was going to make him pay.

Michiru saw the fire in the tall blonde's eyes and knew things were about to get bad and physical very quickly, so she decided to act before Haruka did and stepped between them.

"Haruka-chan maybe we should get another drink! Let's go check out the bar." The blond senshi was a little confused but realized there was no arguing with Michiru so she barely nodded her approval and kept her killer look eyes on Seya. The aquamarine haired senshi pulled on her cousin's right arm and dragged her to the bar.

Seiya watched amused the two young women make their way through the crowd. Haruka was sensually but unwillingly walking towards the bar area, her ruffled short hair was showing of her long and slender neck, her pearl white skin was contrasting with the fabric of her dress and her bare back made him focus on her round tempting ass.

The man superficially asked himself when did Haruka transform from a tomboy into a damn hot woman but he didn't actually care what was the answer, he was much more preoccupied with the new opportunities the change brought to their confrontations.

Now, with her gone, he allowed a mischievous grin to form on his lips.

…

It was around two in the morning and the night looked like a total success. The big party satisfied the media and made the celebrities a little dizzy, but one particular blond tall woman was not feeling at all happy. Haruka was standing besides the bar: she needed her glass filled but Champaign wasn't her favorite choice, so she asked the bartender to make her a gin tonic. The last few hours had been difficult for her: she was watching Seiya's every move making sure he wasn't going to do something cheerless and stupid. Surprisingly he was behaving pretty well except his continuous flirting. Haruka was sure that by now not one of the young and attractive women at the party had escaped him: they all had a lost and intoxicated look on their faces and the tall blond asked herself how they could lose any sense of logic and personality so quickly when faced with him.

She got her gin tonic and fixed her eyes on him in the opposite side of the ballroom: she still couldn't figure out why he seemed so different than 4 years before, he was still flirting with any girl or woman he laid his eyes on, he was still acting like a pain and his cocky personality was still getting on her nerves. The part that dazzled her was the strong physical attraction she could feel towards him, she was drawn to him and it was so raw and violent she could almost feel his body with her eyes.

She took a sip from her drink and continued the surveillance. Something had to happen.

From the opposite side of the ballroom Seiya felt her observing him. He knew she did that without hiding and continuously since their little conflict earlier, but never gave her the satisfaction of looking her way.

He was stubborn and decided to purposely ignore her, but he did notice with the corner of his eyes, that many men were approaching her one by one and then turning away with an embarrassed and humiliated look on their faces. He guessed they only asked her to dance but her harsh answers made them flee defeated and humiliated.

Slowly a challenging idea was forming in his head and a downright mischievous smile was forming on his lips. He knew it was risky, but if it worked he could have some fun, so he suddenly turned her way catching her gaze from across the dance floor. He started walking towards her without breaking the eye contact and with a mysterious smile on his lips.

Haruka saw him coming her way but she couldn't move or break the eye contact: he was making his way through the crowd towards her and he looked like a predator stalking his pray. She felt hypnotized by his burning eyes getting closer and closer to hers, her pulse accelerated and her breathing almost stopped. The time compressed and she couldn't see anything beyond the moment he would reach her.

And soon enough he stopped right in front of her. Still looking into her eyes he reached behind her and picked up a glass of Champaign. He knew he didn't have too much time to act before she would come to her senses, so he whispered to her in a mocking low voice:

"It must be really sad to spend the entire night just watching others have fun and dance"

She was puzzled and blinked a few times before she answered a little shaken by the unexpected mocking line:

"I assure you I'm having lots of fun, only it's my kind of fun!"

"I'm sure you're trying to, but not knowing how to dance must make you feel terribly left out" he told her in a false compassionate tone and turned his gaze towards the dance floor, breaking the eye contact.

She was surprised at his assumption and asked him genuinely curious:

"You think I don't know how to dance?"

"Well no… I'm quite sure of it" he answered confident and not turning her way. She was getting irritated and aggressive very fast:

"What the hell made you believe that?"

His answer came in a calm and distant voice; he seemed preoccupied with the movement on the dance floor and not too interested in their conversation:

"The fact that you turned so many men down tonight. You never danced with one. It must be embarrassing to try to come up with all kind of excuses…"

"If you must know I refused to dance because I found them repulsive and couldn't stand to be anywhere near them !" her voice was getting louder she was starting to lose control. Seya knew that was the moment for his move if he wanted her to act on impulse, so he turned her way, looked into her eyes again but this time distant and said to her:

"I don't believe you! "

His answer only aggravated her so she reacted instinctively and almost like a child:

"But I DO KNOW how to dance" she answered furiously with fire burning in her eyes.

"I still don't believe you" came his calm answer, and Seya could feel it: that was the breaking point: she was completely surrendering herself to her emotions.

"I'll prove it to you!" she said in a demanding tone "Dance with me!"

Seya thought she looked beautiful like that: completely lost in her emotion and passionately defending herself, but he was not about to fill her in on that and instead warned her in an annoyed voice:

"Alright… but don't ruin my shoes…"

Haruka garbed his right arm and started dragging him towards the dance floor. Seya was sure she was silently cursing him but he was smiling satisfied: Haruka really never backed down from a challenge and that made his little plan work like a charm.


	2. Chapter 2

This is my first fanfiction ever…and actually this is the first time I'm trying to write something. On top of that my English is far from perfect, so I'm sure my writing is a little strange and filled with mistakes. I can only hope the general message of the text gets through.

I do not own any of the characters.

**Chapter 2**

Haruka was dragging Seiya towards the dance floor and knew that wasn't her best idea ever. She was starting to realize that she was falling into a trap mischievously set by one dark haired alien she couldn't stand. But Haruka couldn't back down now; it was too late for that: she had to dance with the man she hated the most on the surface of the Earth and, unfortunately, that was the same man she felt physically attracted too. It wasn't a good combination of feelings and she knew it: getting his body close to her and initiating a conversation, meant feeling aroused like hell and wanting to break his neck at the same time. The idea of seriously making him suffer was getting more and more appealing as she approached the dance floor.

Seiya was having fun letting her drag him. Haruka was making his night a lot more interesting. He couldn't stand her superior attitude, and loved to deflate her huge ego every time he had the chance: almost every word she voiced managed to irritate him and he couldn't resist arguing with her, even though he knew he wasn't always right: he just loved to piss her off, and he was good at it. But so was Haruka, and they usually ended up in a heated argument that could very easily transform into a fight … and some hospitalization bills; the others never allowed things to go that far though, always trying to make them behave around each other witch only made things worse.

The sexy look of the woman he loved to coax was a new twist to their game. She was hot and his body seemed to have a mind of its own around her; it felt like an uncontrolled need to rip her clothes of and ravish her body right then and there.

His mind was fighting against it but his arousal was still there, hiding behind mechanic gestures and words. Seiya knew she hadn't picked up on it, at least not yet… but he couldn't hide it for long and the instant she will realize he was attracted to her she'll use it to her advantage, trying to make his life a living hell. Unfortunately the look on her face whenever he managed to deflate her huge ego was too tempting. The power he felt knowing she was doing something against her will just because he wanted it was worth it. Their game of always trying to overpower each other was fun, and their fight for supremacy always heated; and then he realized that the passion she was putting into their fights was in her every action: Haruka hated passionately, she fought passionately and he was sure she could love passionately, but for the moment, she was dragging hip passionately to the dance floor.

They reached the center of the dance floor as the slow waltz was ending. A few couples were dancing lost in their movements and enjoying the feeling of submerging in their small world. When she turned to face Seiya the band started to play some piece of tango: a not too loud one, but still it was tango. Haruka thought the musicians must have had one too many drinks but she couldn't do anything about it. Even though she would have preferred a much more impersonal dance, she had her mission:

prove Seiya she could dance and

humiliate his hot ass in the process if it was possible.

So she rested one arm on his shoulder and place her other hand in his, allowed him to support her by the waist and they started the dance.

They went through a series of basic steps moving around the dance floor; it looked like they were testing each other, getting used to the dynamics of their bodies moving together. They were playing by the rules, trying to keep a safe distance from each other and fighting the magnetic physical attraction generated by their bodies brought so close together.

Haruka wasn't looking into his eyes: she held her head tilted backwards and turned to her right; she was desperately trying to ignore him. The tall blonde realized that getting her body so close to his could lead to her loosing the little control she still had. So, knowing she couldn't hide her arousal for too long under the circumstances, she tried to get away and asked him in an equal tone, without looking his way:

"Now do you believe me?"

Seiya had looked at her the whole time admiring her ability to remain distant in such a dance: she was barely touching him and he couldn't feel her weight, her moves limited to the strictly necessary ones, but he couldn't resist the urge to disagree with her and have a little more fun, so he answered in a mocking disappointed tone:

"Almost…"

She snapped and turned her head, eyes locked with his and anger in her voice:

"What do you mean?"

"Well… you move but you don't dance. You lack the passion of dancing…" Seiya answered with the same disappointed, distant voice.

Haruka stopped angry and still looking into his eyes.

"You want passion?" she asked in a low menacing tone, not really waiting for an answer; then she smiled devilishly, fire burning in her eyes: "Be careful what you wish for, Kou…" she whispered seductively and suddenly pushed herself away from his hold.

Haruka turned her back to him and slowly walked away swinging her hips to the rhythm of the music. She was pulling up her dress above her right leg: when the hem reached her fingers she took one of her earrings off and used it to improvise a safety pin to secure the dress into place and so creating a slit on her right leg.

Seiya observed her round ass moving away and decided she couldn't get away that easily. He walked a few steps and reached for her hand, he suddenly pulled on it and as an effect she spun around colliding with his chest.

She was looking into his eyes again, challenging him, her body pressed onto his and the seductive smile still on her lips. She looked dangerous and her next moves told Seiya that the rules of the game had changed: her left hand reached behind his head bringing his face a little closer to hers, her bare pearl white right leg started to caress his left one and went up until it reached his waist almost hugging him, and her husky, low voice whispered:

"Does this qualify as fucking passion?"

He didn't answer her question: just smiled and placed one hand on her waist pressing her onto him harder and took her hand into his. Her leg was slowly making its way towards the floor, and the instant her toe touched the wood they started moving in a tornado of caresses and dance steps. They looked glued together, like they wanted to melt into each other, the look on their faces getting darker, never breaking the eye contact for more than a few milliseconds.

Haruka felt Seiya's frame against hers and knew the little control she had was about to go out the window so she decided to have a little fun at least and allowed herself to get lost in the passion of the dance: her hands were caressing Seiya's chest, neck and arms, she was pulling him closer and the next second she was pushing him away, but he was always matching her moves, dearing her to be balder. He could feel through the fabric of her dress her every perfect curve molded into his body, her smile alluring and her green eyes flooded with what looked like pure lust.

He wasn't sure she was only driven by the desire to prove him wrong, he wasn't sure it was all an act so he decided to try and figure out the truth: he pulled her in a close embrace, her back sinking into his chest, and his hands caressed her abdomen going higher and higher until he almost cupped her round breasts, his lips approached her neck, his hot breath against her perfect white skin. He felt her shiver under his touch, and the instant his lips touched her skin a low involuntary moan escaped her lips. It lasted only a fraction of a second before she violently pushed herself away from the embrace and continued to dance.

A wicked smile was forming on his lips: her body was betraying her. The woman could utter the harshest words but the truth was she physically wanted him, and Seiya found a strange feeling of satisfaction in that. After all she was the woman igniting the eyes of almost every man at the party and that single fact was doing wonders for his ego.

Haruka thought she was imagining things or that her arousal was distorting the reality: Seiya looked excited, and the curious thing was that she seemed to be the cause: his breath was accelerated, his eyes were looking at her like they could see through the fabric of her dress, he looked like a predator with the pray in his hands and about to satisfy his hunger, so she dared to provoke him: she positioned her left leg between his legs and began lowering herself, her breasts molding into every detail of his body.

She was bending her left knee between his legs while keeping her right leg straight behind her, looking to the side trying to concentrate and read his reaction to her moves. Haruka reached his waist with her breasts and his body language was loud and clear: his muscles were tense and he was almost shaking desperately trying to control himself, his pants a little too tight below his waist. She had her proof: Seiya wanted her, wanted her body in the most physical way there was, and an evil smile transformed her features: the fact meant so many new ways of tormenting the dark haired singer.

Seiya was not willing to let things get any more complicated, he knew there was no way the blonde hadn't noticed his arousal. Before she could go any further than his waist he grabbed her arms and pulled her back up. The smile on her lips was not good news for him, but he was expecting it.

"You're enjoying yourself" came her arrogant voice, a hint too husky to take her insult seriously.

"Don't worry, he smiled back at her, it's obvious that so do you"

She laughed amused by his denial, and the sound of her voice had a new ring to him: it wasn't her usual superior tone, she was sincerely laughing

"You know we're making a pretty nice spectacle to watch, right?" she asked in a secretive voice.

"Yes…so what?" he answered whispering in her ear.

"Then let's give them something to gossip about" she dared him.

Haruka thought she heard him mumble an answer, but the music was getting louder as the song approached its end.

They were looking for more contact, trying to create more friction, their hands caressing, feeling, pushing or pulling, loosing themselves. Their instincts, their desire was taking over and every single person in the room was analyzing their every step, unable to look away. With the final notes they ended up in an embrace: Haruka pressed sideways into his chest, with her right bare leg bent and supported by Seiya's left arm, her right hand caressing his neck, their heads turned, searching for each other's lips but never actually locking them in a kiss.

The music was gone, the magic of the dance was gone and the reality of their actions was beginning to dawn on them. Before she moved to release herself, he whispered in her ear:

"You were right", his voice was husky and deep, but her answer was harsh and distant:

"I only did this to show you how far from the truth you were." He chuckled in her ear, finding her attempt to hide behind her words funny and empty. Seiya removed his arms from her body: she was back to her unfriendly and arrogant self.

Haruka stepped away without another sound, she knew her words had been a complete lie, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of hearing her praise him.

Seiya watched the tall blonde getting lost into the crowd, he couldn't stop himself from admiring her beautiful body and wanting to take her right then and there and make her forget all the arrogant lines she always had for him. When Taiki stepped by his side he was still lost in his thoughts, and his brother's voice startled him.

"What was all that about?" he asked in a curious tone. Seiya turned with an intrigued look on his face:

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you two looked like you were about to have sex on the dance floor! Care to explain that?" Taiki's voice was serious, he wanted an answer, but Seiya was not in the mood to explain anything.

"Oh…that…there's nothing to explain…tango is supposed to look like that…I thought you should know more about this planet's culture than me." He answered in an indifferent tone, but Taiki was not giving up that easily:

"The culture of this planet has nothing to do with the way you two were all over each other" .

"Taiki, it was just a dance! Don't read anything more into it! I'm sure you know the definition of dancing." Seya said annoyed by his brother's persistence.

"Yes I do, but I also know the definition of sex and foreplay" Taiki insisted, but Seiya was not in the mood for any type of conversation:

"It was nothing…just let it go…" he answered walking away and searching for some privacy in some other part of the ballroom.

"It didn't look like nothing to me…" Taiky whispered not following Seiya into the crowd. Yaten was close by and he heard the last few words his brothers exchanged. He joined the brown haired man and asked intrigued:

"So…what's going on?"

"I don't know…yet…" came the barely audible answer.

"I'm surprised he's still alive after getting that close to Tenoh" Yaten joked.

"Yes…normally he should be visiting the emergency room by now…" Taiki was trying to make some sense out of his brother's actions and words, but no logical explanation came to his mind. "It's strange…maybe he's hiding something…"

"Knowing Seiya this usually means trouble…"

"We'll see…" Taiki answered in a low voice and turned to face the inner senshi coming their way with obviously numerous questions already forming in their heads.

…

Seiya was sitting at a small table admiring his full glass of champaign. In front of him a young woman was talking nonchalantly about every single thing that came to her mind. He registered absentminded she was beautiful: long red hair tied up in a messy bun and short beaded black dress fitted to her every curve, but no matter how hard the woman tried to get his attention, he remained lost in his thoughts. The memory of Haruka's body pressed into his was invading his mind. He lifted the glass to his eye level analyzing the small bubbles of air forming in the glowing liquid. Seiya looked captivated by his actions but he wasn't actually seeing anything, his eyes lost in the web of his thoughts. Looking through the almost completely transparent liquid his mind barely registered a familiar silhouette sneaking around in the opposite side of the ballroom. He snapped out of his reverie and removed the glass from his line of sight just in time to see Haruka disappear behind a set of heavy burgundy drapes.

"What is she doing?" he asked himself, both eyebrows going up in a puzzled expression.

Curiosity was starting to fuel his actions: he needed to know what was going on, so he got up from the table, the red-head using every method she could think of to make him stay a little longer, but Seiya ignored her completely and begun his pursuit of the tall blonde senshi.

He reached the heavy drapes and, mimicking some involuntary gestures he slid behind them. To his surprise the blonde was not there, but he found a small wooden door. It looked like a secondary access to the ballroom, and he decided Haruka must have used it for her escape, so he went through the door and found himself in a dark large corridor, but there was no sign of the woman there either, only the distant sounds of footsteps on the stone floor. He decided to follow the noise, silently, his imagination ignited by the blonde's secretive actions.

A few minutes earlier

Haruka was trying to make the best of a totally boring conversation: the man in front of her was trying desperately to convince her to go out with him. He was getting balder and closer to her unaware of the real possibility of ending up with a series of broken bones. She wanted to get away and she needed to get away. The dance with Seiya earlier in the night was tormenting her. She could still feel his breath on her skin, his hands on her body; she could still see his annoying arrogant smile on his lips. So she abruptly ended the conversation and directed her steps towards the bar.

The bartender prepared for her again one of her favorite drinks, and as she turned to analyze at the restless mass of people inside the ballroom, she suddenly knew exactly what to do. She looked around to find Michiru and Setsuna, and saw both of them attending to the guests. They looked like perfect hosts and Haruka knew her escape plan would earn her a good hassle in the morning, but she decided to worry about that insignificant detail later. So she moved with agility through the crowd until she reached an almost empty area of the ballroom. Careful not to draw too much attention to herself and superficially rearranging some flowers on the tables, she waited for the perfect moment. When she thought none of the senshy were looking her way she sneaked behind a set of drapes. Haruka knew a door would be there and that meant her salvation.

…

Seiya followed the sound of footsteps until he reached large wooden double doors. He heard movement behind them and slowly and silently opened one side of the door just enough to sneak through. Once on the other side he found himself in a large glass dome. It was decorated with many exotic plants and the smell of flowers and wet earth was invading his nostrils. Through the glass roofing the moonlight was invading every corner of the structure, coating everything in a silver armor. He moved forward and saw in the center of the dome a large swimming pool. The water was almost perfectly still and reflected the full moon on the night sky.

Haruka was standing on the edge of the pool admiring the surface of the water. She took a sip of her drink and rested the glass on the beautiful mosaic border surrounding the pool. Unaware of the fact that she was not alone, she reached behind her dress and unzipped it; her hands pushed the beaded straps away and the fabric fell silently to the floor. Her black lace underwear soon followed and she lifted her left ankle slightly turning to the side to reach the straps of her high heel sandals. When she finished taking those off she pushed the small pile of clothes with her bare foot to the side. Haruka stood there for a few seconds, apparently hesitating, before she jumped into the water and started swimming.

Seiya moved through the shadows, an evil and slightly aroused smile forming on his lips. He approached the edge of the pool and sat himself on a rattan couch; he placed his left ankle on his right knee and relaxed his arms by his sides: he was enjoying the view.

Seiya's eyes were glowing in the dark, following Haruka's completely naked body move through the water. She was captivating: perfect white skin, toned slender body moving faster and faster; she was trying to reach her body's limits, pushing for more speed and not listening to the signals her muscles sent her. She was the image of will fighting matter and Seiya could not divert his burning gaze from her.

When she finally stopped exhausted, hanging from the edge of the pool, he decided to alert her of his presence.

"How was it?" he asked in a low voice. Haruka turned her face almost instantly to the direction of the sounds, her eyes wide open and the surprise of not being alone obvious on her face.

"What?" she asked in a dangerous tone, eyes locking on Seiya's form, guessing his arrogant smile in the dark.

"How was the swim?" he said calmly. She recovered quickly from the shock, eyes narrowing:

"Wonderful…until now…" she said "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I followed a suspicious looking woman…" His nonchalant answer annoyed her even more than his presence, and she wanted him gone.

"Get back to your party, Kou! Your flock of fans must be wandering where you are…" her voice was serious and menacing.

"I don't want to….they're no fun…" he complained almost innocently and childishly, but Haruka wasn't buying it.

"I don't care!...Go away!..."she said in a severe tone of voice.

"I'm not going anywhere" his reply was bossy and calm "So what are you going to do about it?" As she restrained herself from kicking his ass or breaking his neck on the spot, she suddenly realized she was completely naked, and that he probably saw her undress earlier. That reminded her of the little discovery she made during their dance and a mischievous idea was starting to form in her head. She turned to face him, the water barely concealing her breasts, her voice changing completely from aggressive to utterly seductive:

"I don't know…but I might have some…interesting ..ideas…" she emphasized the last words with a barely audible moan.

Seiya repositioned himself on the couch feeling a little uncomfortable, his body instantly responding to her actions. His words came out huskier than he intended:

"Is that so?…"

She smiled devilishly walking his way through the water.

"Yes…" her voice a sexy whisper.

She climbed the few steps at the edge of the pool right in front of him, getting out of the water; a sensual smile on her lips and glowing green eyes locking with his. She was moving slowly and seductively getting closer to him and daring him to break the eye contact. Although he knew he was making a mistake, the temptation was too much for him and he diverted his eyes to her body. Haruka was completely out of the water, walking towards him. She wasn't making any effort to hide her gorgeous body and her feline moves expressed freedom and confidence. She was bating in the moon light, water running down her pearly soft skin, dripping from her sandy locks like liquid silver. Small drops of water glowed on her skin like hundreds of precious stones. She stopped one step away from him.

Seiya was speechless, his eyes blurred by desire. His body desperately wanted her: he felt the urge to touch her, to caress her, to trail every perfect curve of her body with his lips, he wanted to cup her full round breasts in his hands, he wanted to feel her hot breath against his skin…he needed to taste every inch of her…he needed to posses her.

His breath was accelerated, his muscles tensed, he was on the verge of losing any trace of control he still had and pull her down in his lap and ravish her, but Haruka's steady and mocking voice stopped him:

"See anything you like, Kou?", an arrogant contempt smile on her lips.

He lifted his eyes and she saw in them the burning lust held back only by some miracle of his will.

"Not really …" he lied, his voice deep and husky. She bent forward until her lips came close to his right ear and placed one foot on his inner thigh caressing it softly.

"You see…" she said in a seductive whisper "I don't believe you…" and her foot gently pressed his hardening member "Because your friend down there is telling me a different story…"

"Maybe …" he answered in a hoarse voice, and he waited for her arrogant smile to transform into a satisfied one before he continued:" Or maybe I haven't had a good fuck in a while" watching her face turn to absolute anger in a matter of milliseconds was the best revenge he could get.

She straightened up and continued in an indifferent tone:

"Then go find yourself some desperate bimbo and solve your problem. I bet there are hundreds of those only a phonecall away…" she turned to walk away but he reached for her hand and stopped her; he wanted to try something and he said mocking her:

"I bet you'll sleep with me before any of those desperate bimbos"

She looked at him both eyebrows up in a puzzled expression:

"You must be joking!" she laughed.

"Not really" he answered, his voice half serious half wandering what the hell was he doing.

"That's ridiculous! You could have very well said that you bet you'll make me say I love you" Haruka hated herself the instant she saw the effects of her words on Seiya's face.

"That's a very good idea for a bet!" he said.

"No it's not!" she answered annoyed

"Wait, listen: I bet you'll say you love me _and_ sleep with me in … say…three months ?"

"If I win will you go back to Kinmoku?" she asked pondering the idea.

"No, but I'll publicly humiliate myself and admit my undying love for you" Seya answered not really thinking about the consequences.

Haruka thought about the possibility of trashing his annoying pride and the idea appealed to her so she answered halfheartedly: "Fine…"

"Then we have a bet: whoever declares his love first, loses " Seiya said totally convinced that he could never feel or utter those words for the woman he absolutely hated. Haruka's thoughts were following similar lines as she walked away and told him carelessly:

"Yes, we do."

Seiya was grinning watching her pick up her clothes and walking away, not bothering to get dressed. The second the door closed behind her beautiful frame, he began to realize the consequences of his actions, and still somewhat aroused he uttered the single word that came to his mind:

"Fuck…"


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for the huge delay of this chapter…

A huge thank you to those who reviewed, it made me continue the story, and again sorry for the grammar or spelling mistakes.

Anyway…hope you like it.

Chapter 3

Haruka woke up with the smell of fresh made coffee filling her room. She wasn't sure how Setsuna managed to fill the entire house with the smell of coffee every single morning but she liked it; so she got out of the bed smiling and headed for the source of the appealing aroma: the kitchen. She found all of the other outer senshy gathered there: Michiru was reading the morning paper with a cup of coffee by her side, Hotaru was eating her breakfast chatting from time to time with the blue haired young woman and Setsuna was behind the bar fiddling with the espresso machine.

"Morning!" she greeted them cheerfully and headed directly towards the espresso machine.

"Morning, papa!" came the teenager's happy voice, but the other two senshy barely answered her, one captivated by the wonders of "modern technology" and the other apparently caught by some article in the newspaper.

Haruka prepared herself a strong double espresso and leaned her frame against the bar as she savored the dark hot liquid.

"Where were you last night?" Michiru broke the silence, her eyes still captivated by the newspaper, and her voice demanding and bossy.

"What do you mean?... I was _enjoying_ a _wonderful _party thrown for three _amazing_ aliens… you know that…" the blonde joked, trying to doge the obvious questions and reproaches coming her way.

"You disappeared half way through the night! What happened?" the blue haired senshy continued still looking at the newspaper and her voice harsh and cold.

"Nothing happened!... I was there…" Haruka tried to redeem herself but she was feeling uncomfortable about telling the truth half way, and that showed in her voice.

"Don't lie, Haruka…I know you too well to be fooled that easily!..." Michiru's voice was steady and calm.

"I was there!...Honestly!..." Haruka tried one more time to sell her story.

"Yes, but you left Sets and I alone with all the guests half way through the night." Michiru's voice was steady and calculated. Haruka couldn't cope with her cousin's apparent indifference anymore:

"O K!….O K! …gees… I left!... I couldn't stand to be around those three annoying idiots anymore! And the press…so desperate to get a piece of them…completely ridiculous!...", the blonde was walking from one end of the kitchen to the other gesticulating and supporting her point of view with numerous facial expressions, "I just needed to get away… You can't blame me for that!"

"Actually,in this picture, you look like you are enjoying yourself … _and_ the company of one particular dark haired _idiot_!" the blue haired young woman threw the paper she was reading on the kitchen table, her voice severe and serious, and her eyes fixed on Haruka's frame.

The tall blonde stopped waking and froze looking at the paper: there was a picture of her and Seiya in a very close embrace taken during their dance the night before. She wanted to feel guilty for making the comeback party the main story for the scandal press, but the only thing she could think of was "Damn he looks hot …" her cousin's voice brought her back to reality.

"You managed to make ALL the headlines of the tabloids!" Michiru was furious.

"Only the tabloids? And here I was hoping the financial newspapers would make this their focus of the week…" Haruka smiled innocently and tried to joke, hoping to get out of the uncomfortable position as fast as she could, but the aqua senshy was determined to make her point loud and clear.

"Joking around about this isn't going to get you anywhere! Is this your idea of a decent and elegant party?"

"Oh, come on Michiru… It was just an innocent dance… the tabloids are blowing things out of proportion…" Haruka said childishly.

"The tabloids _couldn't_ blow anything out of proportion if there _wouldn't beanything _to blow out of proportion in the first place!" the blue haired woman emphasizing her words with a harsh look on her face and locking her eyes with her cousin's.

"I never wanted it to go this far…I just danced…because that idiot dared me to…It wasn't my idea!..." she tried to place the blame on somebody else, getting more and more aggravated with every word and beginning to develop a plan for making the dark haired _idiot_ suffer for his _brilliant_ idea.

"He wasn't dancing alone, Haruka! He didn't force you to do this!..You…" Michiru was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell, and the blonde jumped at the opportunity to get out of the kitchen.

"I'll get it!" and she almost ran out of the room. On her way to the door she was mumbling different colorful courses specially designed for one particular alien, pondering witch bone would provoke more pain and discomfort if broken. She opened the door and saw a delivery boy standing there with a huge bunch of sunflowers in his hands. The boy said a few words, but Haruka wasn't fully listening, and she made a few steps towards the kitchen, wanting to call Michiru, before it hit her. She suddenly turned facing the delivery boy:

"What did you say?"

"Delivery for Miss Haruka Tenou." the boy answered.

"This must be a joke!", she said, "Who sent these?"

"There's no name for the sender. Bu there's a note, miss." The boy said and pointed at a small envelope attached to the flowers. Haruka took it, opened it and read the small card inside:

"_Thank you for the midnight view." _

The few words made her even more furious …if that was possible… and she grabbed a pen from the delivery boy and wrote on the same card, right below Seiya's words:

"_Go fuck yourself!" _

"Return these to the sender!" she said, and slammed the door in the boy's face. She made her way back to the kitchen where she knew Michiru was waiting to continue her series of reproaches.

After half an hour filled with explanations and promises of good behavior, Haruka was on peaceful terms with the outer senshy again. They were chatting about daily chores and things to do.

"You going to the racetrack today?", Setsuna asked.

"I thought the future holds no secrets from you Sets", the blonde smiled, "with the Time Gate and all…you know…"

"With you, I could be checking your near future every five minutes and still get a different result every time…so I'm saving myself the trouble … it's easier to just ask you." the olive skin senshy answered. Haruka laughed lightly and answered:

"I think I'll go practice. There's a race in two weeks."

"You promised to take Hotaru to the chess contest today, remember?" Michiru said.

"Yeah, we're leaving in half an hour. Go take a shower and get dressed kiddo!" the blonde ruffled the black locks on the teenager's head.

"You know she's doing this because you promised her that silly videogame, right?" the aqua senshy asked.

"I promised to buy her the game _if _she wins."

"Don't worry, papa, I'm gonna win." The girl said with a mysterious smile on her lips, before she rushed out of the kitchen.

"Sometimes I feel like she pretends to be a normal teenager just for the fun of it…" Haruka whispered.

"I know… Oh, and we're having lunch with the girls at Rei's temple tomorrow! Don't forget about it!",Michiru said before the blonde walked out of the kitchen.

The tall senshy was heading towards her bedroom when the doorbell changed her plans. When she opened the door the delivery boy from earlier was standing on the doorsteps with the same huge sunflowers in his hands. Haruka frowned.

"I told you to return these to the sender!"

"I did, the man told me to get the flowers back to you. He read the note and wrote something on it." the boy said looking puzzled. The blonde took the note again and opened it. Below her _Go fuck yourself_ Seiya wrote:

_No can do…I have a bet to win. _

She smiled a little amused and accepted the delivery. She knew she had to come up with a plan, losing a bet to Seiya was not something she wanted to experience.

…

The next day

The outers wore standing in front of the Temple, preparing to walk through the doors. Haruka was wearing an extremely feminine outfit, but that was not something her friends thought to be special, since she liked to do that whenever she felt like it.

The blonde was wearing a tight pair of jeans, hugging her round ass; high heel sandals on her feet; loose creamy shirt trimmed with geometric shaped lace with a trendy light vest over it accentuating her small waist. The first few buttons of the shirt were undone and her full breasts were pushed up by the fitted vest. Haruka took off her sunglasses and looked at the temple doors; she was wearing a little makeup accentuating her beautiful green eyes and sensual lips.

After 24 hours of trying to come up with a plan there was only one thing she could think of: she wanted to use the pure desire she saw he felt for her; she would make him want her … bad enough to make him do almost anything to have her… and then she would ask him to tell her he loved her, even though it wouldn't be true, but they never said anything about actually feeling the words… it was all about uttering them.

So Haruka stepped through the temple doors prepared to face her opponent, and coincidently her desires at the same time. They were gathered around a table in the garden, protected from the merciless sunrays by the beautiful trees surrounding the temple. The girls were chatting continuously, laughing and showering the three boys with questions and praises. She immediately noticed him captivated by a conversation with one of the girls. He was looking good…too good for her sake she thought,…her eyes locked on his frame getting a little darker, her smile a little mischievous, her walk more seductive. Seiya felt her gaze on him and raised his eyes: he saw her coming their way, and he smiled satisfied: the look on her face and her gestures told him their game was on.

"Hey ! You made it!" Usaghi jumped from her seat and greeted the outer senshy. The four young women answered her cheerful words amused by the petite blonde.

"We're all here now, Makoto!" Usaghi continued, "_NOW_ can we eat?" she asked anxious to attack the stacks of food deposited in the kitchen.

"One of these days your appetite's going to catch up with your metabolism", Haruka joked, "and you're gonna get one big fat ass"

"No I'm not…"Usaghi pouted, "I'm just a healthy girl with a healthy appetite…"the senshy all laughed amused by the blonde's obvious denial.

The outers sat at the large table, chatting with the inners, laughing and eating. Haruka was sitting across the table from Seiya and she was busy listening to Makoto's funny story about some clumsy friend of hers. The brown haired woman was sitting next to Seiya, to his right and she was chatting exuberantly.

The dark haired man was looking insistently at Haruka, who appeared captivated by Makoto's story. He was analyzing her, wondering how long she was going to ignore him. The tall senshy shifted in her seat, she knew she was being observed and decided to have a little fun: she pretended not to understand what Makoto was saying and she bent over the table, pushing her full breasts onto the table top. Seiya's eyes traveled instantly to her cleavage and he unconsciously licked his lips. His eyes went back up to her face and the playful smile on her lips told him she knew exactly what she was doing. He could feel his body respond to her actions and he knew their bet was making things a lot more interesting…and a lot more complicated.

After the comeback party he tried to come up with a plan to determine her to say she loved him…and sleep with him…and on top of that he couldn't fuck some other woman to release the tension the tall blonde was building up inside him…all because his big mouth: he had to say she would give in to him before any other woman… he was starting to feel frustrated…

His simple conclusion was that Haruka was not some ordinary woman, but still, she was a woman… and a damn sexy one…she had to have a soft spot in her apparent impenetrable armor, and he was gooing to find it and use it to determine her to say she loved him.

The discussions at the table were filled with energy and laughter. Minako was trying to show the girls some magic trick and she was failing completely but she was funny and entertaining. With a low voice Seiya decided to break the silence between him and the sandy blonde:

"Do you know any tricks? … other than your usual arrogant stunts, that is…" he asked her, close to her ear, not loud enough to attract the attention of anyone else.

She turned her face towards his, a little surprised by his words, but a wicked smile formed on her lips: a playful and seductive light was playing in her eyes, her voice husky and sexy:

"Actually…I do this one thing…", she whispered looking straight into his eyes, "…with ice cubes.." and she barely licked her upper lip.

Seiya froze: was she saying what he was thinking she was saying?, but before he could get a more accurate answer from her, she was already gone: he could only see her frame disappear behind the temple's doors. Usaghi's cheerful voice stopped him before he could go after the tall blonde:

"So you're going to that movie premiere tomorrow?"

"Yes… we need the publicity…or at least Taiky and Yaten think we do…", he answered a little distant, still looking at the temple doors.

"That's so cool!", the petite blonde continued with stars and harts forming in her eyes, "You're gonna meet Michel… and Elise…"

"What?..." Seya asked looking around, puzzled and trying to understand what Usaghi meant.

"She's going through a _movie star fan_ phase… they're her new guilty obsession…" Michiru told him, smiling.

"Oh, I see…", he turned his attention back to Usaghi, "You can come too if you want, I can get you an invitation."

"Really?" she jumped from her seat "You're not kidding?"

"I'm serious. It's no big deal" Seiya answered amused.

"Can I bring Mina too? She' s obsessed with Michael… And Makoto too… And Rei…And Ami…Can I ? ….Can I?" the petite young woman looked at the three young men with big puppy eyes, trying to convince Seiya or Taiky …or Yaten. The Three Lights smiled embarrassed, but Yaten took the initiative and answered her:

"Actually I think you should all come. Maybe it's not going to be a completely boring night after all…"

"Yeeeey!" The inners squealed, excited and happy.

"Now all we have to do is decide what to wear!" Usaghi continued,"So, do you guys go alone, or do you have dates for the night?"

"Actually I had my eyes on a young starting actress …and I plan to sweep her of her feet at the premier" Yaten said, "So I'm going alone"

"I'm taking Ami", Taiky said, distant, but all the heads turned towards the short haired woman, a surprised look on every face. The mercurial guardian blushed heavily, and her voice trembled as she tried to explain herself:

"Yes…We're going together… he asked me on a date…and I agreed…"

"OK, so that leaves you, Seiya. Any special woman you asked to come with you?" Usaghi asked.

"No. I'm all alone." the dark haired man answered, with a playful voice.

"We have to find you a date!" the petite blonde declared "How about Rei?"

"I have a boyfriend" the raven haired senshy said.

"OK, then Minako!"

"I like Yaten's plan better, so I prefer going alone…so many hot guys there…"

"Then maybe Makoto!"

"Boyfriend here too!"

"Then Michiru!"

"No can do… possessive lover …"

"Setsuna?" Usaghi asked.

The olive skinned senshy raised her eyes with a dark light filling them, she looked dangerous, and the petite blonde continued intimidated and stumbling in her words: "Maybe that's not such a great idea… I'm sure you're busy Sets…"

"What's going on?" Haruka had returned from the kitchen and she was standing behind Michiru, a glass with a cold drink in her hand. Usaghi's eyes landed on her and a brilliant idea formed in her head:

"Haruka! How about her ?"

"What about me?" the sandy blonde asked.

"You're gonna be Seiya's date at the movie premiere tomorrow night!" the petite blonde said excited, "This is perfect!"

Haruka got over the shock and her voice was steady and serious: "No!"

"Oh, come on Haruka!" Usaghi pleaded, "He doesn't have a date! He's all alone!"

"No!" came the tall sensy's calm answer.

As the two tried to convince each other, Seiya smiled mischievously: that wasn't such a bad idea after all:

"I've been away for so long… I think I might need somebody to accompany me…I'm a little confused….so many things have changed since I left…." he saidwith a serious voice, a confused look on his face.

"Look Haruka! He's so helpless! He needs you!" Usaghi continued.

"He's the least helpless person I can think of!" the sandy blonde saidwith a menacing voice, looking straight into Seiya's eyes: he was smiling and that annoyed her even more.

"Please! Pretty please!" The petite blonde was starting to use her puppy eyes technique.

"No!"

"But you two looked so good together the other night!"

Hearing those words, Taiky couldn't help himself and he whispered to Yaten: "That's the biggest understatement I've ever heard!" The white haired man smiled: "Yeah..I wonder what the hell is going on ... he should have better survival skills… "

Meanwhile the tall short haired senshy was losing her patience: Usaghy was using her every method to convince her to go to the damn movie as Seiya's date…she knew she couldn't fight her princess's will for long, so she finally said, exasperated and angry with herself:

"FINE! I'll go! … Just stop making such a big fuss!"

The petite blonde squealed happy and hugged Haruka. The wind sensy looked across the table at the dark haired alien: she looked angry and ready to kill but Seiya's satisfied and mischievous smile sent her an alarm signal: he knew exactly what he was doing and she was convinced it had a lot to do with their bet.

…

The night of the premiere

Haruka was standing in front of her open closet: she was pulling out dresses and throwing them all around her bedroom, angry and confused. She wanted to make Seiya suffer: she hated the paparazzi cameras, she hated the publicity but mostly, she hated the way the dark haired man forced her into this situation… and on top of that she hated the way her body reacted around him, the way it wanted to get close to his…to feel him…to touch him…to taste him…

"Damn alien!" she mumbled pushing violently a pile of clothes with her foot. Looking furious around the room her eyes landed on a pair of black pants laying on the bedroom floor: and it hit her "He's gonna have one hell of a date tonight…" she whispered and an evil grin transformed her features.

…

In front of the theatre the crowd was going crazy: hundreds of fans screaming and crying, trying to get a glimpse of their favorite movie star, hundreds of cameras taking pictures every second, reporters everywhere taking interviews, policemen trying to keep things in order, bodyguards, event organizers, assistants…and of coerce, a few celebrities. It looked like hell broke loose with deafening noise and blinding light. Surrounded by this apparently disorganized mayhem Seiya was giving an interview to a sexy reporter: he looked a little distant but far from confused or helpless. As he was flirting with the sexy female reporter he registered behind the young woman in front of him, in the background a fire red sports car pulling up in front of the red carpet. His attention was drawn to the section of the crowd going a little crazier than usual, and diverting his eyes from the female reporter, he discovered the reason behind it: stepping out of the perfect red car was a smiling and confident Haruka dressed in the most elegant and masculine tuxedo she could find.

Seiya remained motionless for a few seconds analyzing her: she looked like a perfect charming young man, her masculine clothes hiding the extremely feminine curves Seiya knew she had, Haruka was behaving like the usual tomboy she was, flirting nonchalantly with every beautiful young female she met in her way towards the theatre doors. She was beautiful and she could be easily mistaken for a young man blessed with delicate features. Her ruffled short hair kept the _just got out of the bad after having sex_ look, her sided smile and the playful light in her eyes making women around her blush.

He laughed; amused by the method she used to show her protest against being someone's date for the night, and he walked towards her. When he got close enough he encircled her waist with his right arm and he pulled her entire frame into his:

"Hey there date!" he said not looking into Haruka's eyes and smiling at the blushing and confused reporter. The sandy blonde tensed and tried to push herself away, preparing to punch her aggressor, but the second she turned her head to see her future victim she froze: he was so close to her, his muscles hard under the fabric of his clothes forcing her to remain still in his embrace; his scent invading her senses. The surprise of finding her source of anger and, at the same time, the object of her lust so close rendered her motionless for a few seconds, gazing in disbelief at Seiya's bright cocky smile.

She took control over herself, a playful idea lighting her eyes: she encircled his waist with her left arm, and allowed it to travel lower to his ass and squeezed it.

"Well, hello to you too", she whispered, the surprised look on his face satisfying her desire for revenge. He turned his wide open eyes towards her:

"I see you're having fun" he said in an amused voice.

"Annoying you is always fun" Haruka answered smiling.

"Be careful with that…you might get more than you want out of it" Seiya said.

"I'm a big girl, I can handle it"

"Hmm… we'll see about that…", he said, and he pushed her towards the theatre doors, his arm not leaving her waist, and a mischievous smile on his lips.

…

Ten minutes after the beginning of the movie Haruka was already feeling uncomfortable in her seat. From her point of view her task of being Seiya's date for the night was over: he was inside the theatre watching the movie and she wanted out, so she used some common excuse and left the hall. Once in the foyer she looked for an emergency exit to doge the crowd of reporters and fans in front of the building. She found it quickly and she almost ran down the metal stairs, spotting her car parked close to the emergency exit she used. She took off her jacket and unbuttoned her shirt pulling up her sleeves: she felt like driving and the elegant clothes felt uncomfortable, but before she could get into her car she heard a very annoying and familiar voice behind her:

"You're abandoning me already?" came Seiya's voice in a false disappointed tone.

She stopped and whispered to herself "Damn…" but continued in a steady voice: "Yes. Deal with it."

"Usaghy's gonna be very disappointed…"

"No she's not, I've done my part. All that you have to do now is get home after the movie…you should be capable of doing that on your own…and she didn't say anything about babysitting…" she said and got into her car.

"That's a very good idea" he said walking around Haruka's car and getting inside it "Take me home."

She growled angry at his actions: "Go away and find somebody else to annoy!"

"No… you're perfect for that!" he said laughing and she growled louder starting the car and leaving the parking lot like a true race car driver she was.

Haruka had no intention of taking him home, and after a few minutes of driving she forgot about him being in the car with her. She was enjoying the feeling of speed going faster and faster, the wind playing with her hair, a relaxed and satisfied smile transforming her features. He watched her get lost into her actions and, as they got out of the busy city, he heard her laughing struggling to keep control of the car in a few hairpin curves. The sound of her laughter surprised him: it was pure and filled with the satisfaction her fight with speed and matter was giving her. Her eyes were glowing in the dim light filled with the burning passion she felt.

Haruka stopped the car by the side of the road, on an observation platform. It was dark and the lights of the city were glowing in the distance, testimony of the hectic night life people chose to live there. She got out of the car stretching her arms over her head.

"Quite an interesting place you chose to stop." Seiya broke the silence getting out of the car too. She turned to face him disappointed:

"You're still here…I forgot about you…" she walked towards the railing admiring the city. "There's a bus station down the road. If you leave now you'll get there in ten minutes." She said calmly not looking his way.

"The city is beautiful…" he said ignoring her words and coming by her side. She turned to face him surprised by his soft voice.

"Yes it is…"

"So much life…they're so innocent…unaware of the dangers that could change all this into darkness…" Seiya continued.

"Yes…" she said not sure how to react to his sincere words.

"When we got back on Kinmoku it was all dark…the few survivors were hiding in the mountains afraid to light the fires in the night…they were scared it might attract the monsters…" he said in a sad voice "Everything was in ruin…and so much darkness…" he turned to face her and smiled "The light here is so beautiful…you should do anything to protect it…"

"I know…and I'm doing anything I can…" Haruka said in a clumsy voice and she smiled with a gentle light playing in her eyes "But now things are back to normal on Kinmoku, right? I'm sure you have beautiful cities just like this one…" and she walked back to the car sitting herself on its bonnet. He laughed lightly and followed her.

"Yes we do…but we don't have anybody as charming as you are!" he joked.

"I'm one of a kind! "she said a little annoyed.

"You know you are beautiful?" he said in a very seductive and serious voice, looking straight into her eyes.

"Yes I do…and I can't believe you're trying to use your cheap Cassa Nova lines on me!" she laughed "This is a sure way for you to lose the bet"

"It was worth the try…" Seiya turned and placed himself in front of her, the look in his eyes telling Haruka his short sincerity crisis was over, "And what line would work on you?" he whispered bending over her and forcing her to lean backwards.

"There's no such thing for me…" she said starting to feel uncomfortable, her gaze traveling from his eyes to his lips and feeling the urge to know how they felt like on her body "Words are empty as long as there is no action to back them up…" and she locked her eyes with his again.

"I see…" he said seductively and he placed his hand on her outer thigh caressing it softly. Haruka gasped and shivered under his touch. "This kind of action seems to have an immediate effect on you…" Seiya smiled and continued his caresses with both of his hands on her outer and inner thighs.

"You…annoying….bastard…" she managed to mumble, her arousal becoming visible. Seiya smiled satisfied:

"I can stop if you want…" he said getting balder, his hands traveling higher over her abdomen, "All you have to do is tell me to stop…" he whispered huskily.

"Fuck you!..." she murmured, her eyes filled with lust. He laughed softly:

"Please do so…"he teased her whispering in her ear and cupping her full breasts in his hands. She moaned softly and arched her body unconsciously giving him better access to her neck and breasts.

"I hate you…"she whispered.

"No you don't…"he said, his hands squeezing her ass "You want me…"

"I…hate…you…" she said again and he pulled her entire body close to his: her legs instinctively encircled his waist and her hands caressed his back as she looked into his dark eyes.

"No… you want me…" his voice low and filled with lust.

"I…" Haruka tried to tell him again how much she hated him but she was interrupted by his husky voice:

"Just shut up already!..." before she could utter another word his lips were pressed violently against hers.

…..

AN: Please let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

Long time no update….sorry about that…(too many things going on these past months)

Anyway, hope you like this chapter, and please review!

P.S.: Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes!

Chapter 4

"I hate you…"she whispered.

"No you don't…"he said, his hands squeezing her ass "You want me…"

"I…hate…you…" she said again and he pulled her entire body close to his: her legs instinctively encircled his waist and her hands caressed his back as she looked into his dark eyes.

"No… you want me…" his voice low and filled with lust.

"I…" Haruka tried to tell him again how much she hated him but she was interrupted by his husky voice:

"Just shut up already!..." before she could utter another word his lips were pressed violently against hers.

She froze for a second, her eyes wide and surprised by his unexpected action.

He was kissing her: after the initial violent contact his lips moved softly over hers, gently biting and licking, inviting her to give him access to her mouth; his breath was heavy, his eyes dark and his hands roamed over her body, trying to get under her clothes. She wanted him and she couldn't fight it anymore, he was too close, his actions driving her insane, the only thing she could do was to give in to her desire, so she slowly opened her mouth, her hands grabbing his dark locks of hair, her legs tightening around his waist.

Lust was starting to take over their actions, their kiss getting more and more passionate and demanding. Her hands made their way to his waist pulling on his shirt and unbuttoning it, the instant her fingertips made contact with his chest she felt him tense under her touch. She smiled devilishly in their kiss and she traced the outline of his muscles with her fingers, barely touching his skin. His response was instant pulling her even harder into his frame, his tongue invading her mouth demanding and making her moan softly. She couldn't resist the temptation of teasing him and she barely touched his nipples with her fingers. The uncontrolled husky moan that escaped his lips into their kiss made her smile satisfied by his response and she dared to squeeze his nipples a little harder with her fingers. He let out a low aroused growl and abandoned her lips arching his back.

"What are you doing!..." he whispered, his breath hot and heavy. She smiled devilishly, looking into his dark blue eyes.

"I'm having fun…" she said, her voice sexy and playful and she pulled on his back to get his body closer to her lips again. Haruka was enjoying herself, abandoning her reason and surrendering to the pure desire she felt. She hated herself for not having the strength to push him away, and at the same time she enjoyed the taste of his lips pressed onto hers and the feeling of his hands caressing her body. She wanted more… her body was demanding more…her lust transforming into an uncontrolled and burning need.

Her lips abandoned his mouth and made their way to his ear, nibbling at it, licking it, her breath hot and accelerated. She started to lay kisses on his neck, going lower and lower on his chest. Relying on her instincts, and Seiya's reaction she barely licked one of his nipples, but before she could do anything else, he swiftly grabbed her hands and pulled her backwards. He clutched both of her wrists behind her back with his left hand and he looked into her eyes.

"You know…" he said with a low voice "For somebody who hates me…you look like you're having too much fun…"

She looked at him, slightly surprised, her mouth barely open and her lips red from the passionate kiss, a mysterious light playing in her dark eyes.

"Oh... not really…" she said with a wicked and playful smile on her lips "Just let me tie you up and have my way with you… then you're gonna see how much fun I can have with you…" she joked.

Seiya looked at her a little puzzled, but with an amused smile on his face.

"Never thought you were the bondage type of girl…" he said laughing lightly.

"You can't put a label on what I am…it's not that easy…" she said and she arched her back, getting her lips millimetres away from his and looking into his eyes, her voice a seductive low whisper: "I can be whatever I want…no restrictions, no limits…no taboos…no regrets…I can make every little dirty fantasy of yours come true…"

Looking into her dark half closed eyes, Seiya knew she was right: he saw in them the powerful lust she felt…but there was more…he could read in them the freedom that was driving her and then it dawned on him: it wasn't her physical beauty that was making both men and women desperately want her…at least it wasn't only that…it was the hidden promises in her sided smile, the electric atmosphere around her: she wasn't playing a role on an imaginary stage like so many others, she was true to herself, fully aware of her strength and not intimidated by her sexuality, not intimidated by anything…it made men and women want her affection , it made them long for her presence, because whenever she was around some of her strength and freedom was transferred onto them. Seiya realized that not only she could love passionately…he already knew that…but for her loving somebody meant giving her entire self to that person…there was no going half way with her…her feelings tending to their absolute form, stripped from any useless, superficial of false manifestations.

He looked into her dark eyes, their lips still millimetres away from each other, and he knew the only thing she was feeling was a burning sexual desire, there wasn't love in them, but he didn't care, he would take whatever she was giving him and for the moment she was giving him her body. So he crushed his lips into hers: if sex was what she wanted he would satisfy her…and he would make her come back for more.

He kept her wrists in his left hand and with the right hand he unbuttoned her shirt exposing her white laced bra. His lips were ravishing hers, his tong invading her mouth tasting, feeling and wanting more with every touch. He cupped one of her full perfect breasts with his free hand squeezed it softly; her response was instantaneous arching her back and pushing herself harder into the kiss. He felt her hard nipple through the fabric of her bra and he brushed it with his thumb; she broke the kiss tilting her head backwards letting out a low moan, arching her back even more inviting him to lower his lips to her beautiful breasts. He placed soft kisses on her neck going lower and lower, savouring the salty taste of her hot pearly skin, he pulled on the fabric of her bra and exposed her perfect nipples but before he could taste and tease them he felt her suddenly tense under his touch pushing him away slowly but firmly.

He heard her voice whisper in his ear, her arousal fading rapidly:

"Your pants are calling you!" she said.

He turned to look into her eyes completely baffled by her words:

"What?"

"There's a voice coming from your pants!…" she said, starting to feel annoyed.

"What voice?" he asked trying to concentrate.

"It's your phone you idiot!" she whispered angry "In your damn pocket!" Seiya was starting to hear some strange sounds indeed, and he reached for his phone. There was a conversation already in progress and a yelling angry Taiky was on the other end of the line:

"Seyia! SEIYA! Damn it ! WHAT'S GOING ON!"

"You better answer him…or something like that…" Haruka said in a low voice, pulling away and walking around the car.

"No…Yes… Wait!..." Seiya tried to stop her but she was already in the driver's seat with the engine going. She took off tires squealing and disappearing into the night.

Seiya let out an angry and loud growl and put his still yelling phone to his ear:

"WHAT?"

...

The next morning Seiya woke up with the morning sun aggressively invading his bedroom... and his eyes. The night had been restless, images, sounds, tastes tormenting him. He was jumpy; the few hours of sleep he had failed their purpose of restoring his energy and morale. On top of that, there were familiar sounds and smells coming from the kitchen: he knew exactly who it was and in that moment he hated having two overprotective brothers, even though he knew that pure curiosity was what brought them into his apartment and not brotherly love. He got out of the bed and headed for the kitchen, where he knew he had to face an endless sequence of silly questions.

When he passed through the door, a strong smell of fresh coffee and an overly energetic Yaten fiddling with the espresso machine greeted him:

"Good morning!"

Seiya mumbled an answer and grabbed a coffee mug from the cupboard. Taiky was sitting calmly at the bar observing him:

"Not such a good morning? Hm?" Taiky asked,

Seiya took a sip from his mug: "Yeah...you could say that... "

"After a busy night it's understandable" Taiky continued,

"Actually thanks to you, it wasn't a busy night at all..."

"Oh?", Taiky's eyebrows went up in surprise, "She got away?"

"Courtesy of your insistent call..."

"I can't believe it!" , Yaten intervened, "The _amazing woman-magnet Seiya _failing to get into some ordinary girl's pants!" , the young white haired man continued laughing lightly: "This is a day to remember!"

"Actually I think she wasn't such an ordinary girl since she got away" , Taiky said, "Who is she?"

"None of your damn business!", Seiya answered annoyed,

"That's interesting..." Taiky continued observing Seiya's almost angry face,

"I think our brother might have met his match!", Yaten joked,

Seiya mumbled some unflattering curses and opened the fridge.

"So...how does she look like?", Yaten continued, "Blonde? Brunette? Redhead?...I bet she's a petite blonde with two pigtails...and as innocent as they come!..."

"Actually she's the opposite of innocence...", Seiya answered unwillingly "But you're right about one thing: she is blonde."

"I see...", Taiky whispered, "Your obsession for blonde women persists ..."

"Not exactly...", Seiya answered starting to feel angry, "But next time she's not getting away!...", he abandoned his coffee mug and headed for the kitchen door, "Now I'm going to take a shower and I hope you don't have any more useless questions", he walked towards the bathroom: "And if you do I don't care!" Seiya almost yelled preparing to get under the shower.

The two brothers remaining in the kitchen looked at each other somewhat confused.

"What's with him?", Yaten asked,

"I don't know…but I never saw him so angry and driven because of a woman before…not even back then, when Usaghi got away", Taiky said,

"Yeah… he was different… insistent…and frustrated… but always delicate about it…", Yaten continued,

"Yes… He is different now…Maybe it's his age: the time for innocent puppy love has passed…"

"Yeah…", Yaten said with an evil smirk starting to form on his lips, "But it's worth investigating!" and he headed for the bathroom door.

Seiya was in the shower trying to relax and figure out what to do next: it was obvious to him that Haruka wanted him, she wanted his body and he wanted her…but getting her to sleep with him was not going to be easy, he knew she was going to put up every defense she had after the night before.

"Idiot…" Seiya mumbled thinking about his loving and overprotective brother realizing he made him waste the one shot he had to take Haruka by surprise and settle one aspect of their bet.

Things could get a lot more complicated or maybe simpler, but Seiya knew he had to prepare for the worst.

"_I need some sort of leverage…or insurance policy…there's gotta be something…",_ he thought and prepared to get out of the shower.

"Hey there bro!", he heard Yaten entering the bathroom,

"Why are you still here?", Seiya asked calmly,

"I was thinking…"

"A dangerous thing for you, my dear Yaten…", Seiya said, but his brother ignored him and continued:

"This mysterious woman… what's she like? Is she beautiful? Voluptuous? Huge tits?"

"She is beautiful and voluptuous, has huge tits and endless legs", Seiya started drying his hair with a huge towel, "… But that's not the point…",

"So where's the catch? What's the thing that makes you want her so badly?"

"It doesn't matter…you wouldn't understand anyway…"

"Oh really?", Yaten answered upset by his brother's offensive superior attitude: "I think I understand perfectly: you want her because she rejected you, you want her because she got away and you want her because you can't have her!". Yaten's words hit their target:

"She didn't reject me: she only got scared when my phone rang and left. Next time she is not getting away!", Seiya started to put on his clothes.

"All you do is try to find excuses!", Yaten continued,

"It's only a matter of time until I'll have her.", Seya was putting on his shoes,

"Bullshit! Next time she's going to get away even faster than last night and you know it!",

"Maybe you're right or maybe you're wrong…you'll have to wait and see…", the dark haired man was at the entrance door preparing to get out of his apartment: "I have some things to do…I'm sure you can find your way out of my apartment since you did find your way in it earlier!"

"Yeah…this morning the spare keys you gave me did help a lot!", Yaten said in an angry voice,

"My mistake!...", Seiya answered and closed the door behind him, leaving his brothers to gossip about him undisturbed.

…

Haruka was having breakfast at a small elegant café downtown. They were having in the menu some amazing coffee specialities, French croissants and other numerous mouth-watering pastries, but she wasn't there for any of that. She had left the house early in the morning, before anybody else was awake, and she watched the sunrise from her car driving near the coastline. She felt the need to be alone with her thoughts and the busy café was the perfect place to feel lonely in a crowd: she observed men and women coming in and getting their morning coffee, lost in their thoughts, some tormented by mysterious problems, some obviously glowing with joy and she watched them spending a minuscule part of their lives meters away from her. Some noticed her and quickly left the café, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, but some didn't realize they were being watched and went by their things as they normally did.

She was trying to find in them something that triggered her desire and she did: some were physically appealing and she felt she would like to feel their bodies under her fingers, some had a sensual voice that made her wonder how would her name sound like uttered at sexual climax, some had beautiful lips that made Haruka imagine how it would feel like to have them kissing her breasts, some had a mysterious light playing in their eyes that triggered her curiosity, but this exercise was not satisfying her: she was looking for some answers, for some kind of an explanation for her recent reactions and she couldn't find them. None of the men or women that went into the café made her feel like he did the night before, not even even close.

There had been a few men and women that had something magnetic and made her glue her eyes to their frame for a few seconds but they were like a mild rain compared to the Thai fun that he was. She had always listened to her instincts even though she sometimes acted deliberately in the opposite direction, but her instincts and desires almost led to having sex with him the night before, that was something that she had to control and prevent, but she needed to understand her reactions if she wanted to do that.

Around him she felt like a pray for some wild untamed animal, unable to escape his sexual magnetism and amplifying it with her own, their bodies instinctively knowing how to please one another and their minds continuously colliding in endless arguments. She hated the way he deliberately annoyed her, but she felt like she wanted to ravish his lips when he smiled satisfied and amused by her aggressive answer. There was almost no way to win with him, but he had something Haruka never saw in some other man or woman: he could make her feel like she was the only woman in the entire Universe only by looking at her. Haruka had felt that the night of their party and after the movie premiere: it was strange but when she looked into his eyes she felt like she was his entire world for those moments: he looked like the only thing that mattered was getting her body close to his or getting her lips pressed against his, nothing else existed in his world but her… actually her lips, her body. She enjoyed that feeling even if it was generated by animal instincts and desire.

Haruka realised she never reacted like that before: if she wanted a woman or a man she always had them, satisfying her need for tender love or passionate sex. In her past relationships she usually got bored quickly even if she kept a pleasant memory of her ephemeral infatuation.

She had to admit Seiya was a beautiful man, but that was not the thing that made him so desirable, she had seen and possessed beautiful men before. It was something different, something hidden in his dark eyes, a strange unspoken undeniable truth that he could satisfy her every desire even before she could completely comprehend what it was that she wanted, dragging her into a world where nothing else existed but the two of them, making her feel shielded from anything that could torment her…actually he was the only nuisance allowed in there…and he was one hell of an annoying bastard.

"Damn it!...", she whispered,

In a fair game she knew she had all the chances to loose…at least the first part of their bet.

"_But nobody said anything about playing nice…", _Haruka thought, a sided smile starting to form on her lips.

She got up from the table in a hurry, paid the coffee and left the café: she needed to take action, and even if it wouldn't win her the bet, pushing his buttons was worth the trouble.

…

A FEW DAYS LATER

Late at night Seiya was standing in front of his laptop disappointed by the outcome of his actions: he had looked for something incriminating or at least embarrassing in Haruka's life, but nothing came up. He spoke with her friends at the garage, he spoke with other drivers, her rivals on the racing track, he even spoke with teachers and parents at Hotaru's school…but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Shure she was an eccentric woman but there was no trace of dangerous, ugly secrets.

The only thing left to do was to search the internet for some kind of gossip that was worth investigating. He found many articles about her, fan sites, videos of her racing, publicity campaigns and almost endless pages with photos. He was superficially browsing them when his eyes stopped on a photo where she was almost naked. He clicked the image and it led him to a photographer's site where he selected Hauka's photo-shoot. There was a set of very provocative pictures of her playing with a bright red fabric and probably completely naked under it. She looked sensual with her eyes half closed and her body barely covered by the red fabric, but what triggered his curiosity was her facial expression in some of the photos: she looked dangerous, like she was hunting whoever was behind the camera. There was a mix of masked disgust and almost hate towards the person taking the pictures and the obvious tension a wild animal displayed before attacking.

Seiya's instincts told him there was something going on and he wanted to find out what, so he wrote down the address and phone number of the studio, closed the laptop and prepared to get out of the house, but the doorbell stopped him and his two brothers entered his apartment.

"Hello, dear brother!", Yaten greeted him,

"Hello!", Seiya answered,

"We haven't heard a word from you these days and we decided to stop by and see if everything is OK", Taiky explained,

"Yeah…I've been busy…And I was about to get out the door…", Seiya said absentminded,

"C'mon! Let's make some coffee and chat a few minutes! We won't bother you too much!", Yaten said walking towards the kitchen,

"OK, but I have to leave in about an hour…", Seiya answered thinking he could go check out the studio later in the night, when nobody was around. He wanted to see if there was any way he could break in without too much effort, if talking to the photographer will not satisfy his curiosity, and he doubted the man or woman would tell him willingly what he wanted to know.

"Perfect!", Yaten said and entered the kitchen.

The three brothers were chatting lightly and laughing around the living room table when the doorbell rang again.

"Are you expecting somebody?", Taiky asked,

"No…", Seya answered heading for the entrance door.

When he opened it, he was greeted by an image of odd perfection: there were three young beautiful women in front of him, dressed in traditional geisha kimonos. What made them out of the ordinary was their contrasting dark blonde hair.

"Good evening, sir!", the three women bowed, their voice soft and delicate.

"Good evening!", he answered puzzled by the situation, "What is this all about?"

"We are here to deliver a message", the one closest to him answered, bowing and handing him a letter, "And we are here to make your night as pleasurable as we can!"

Seiya took the letter, and before he could do anything, the three women were already past him and into the living room.

He opened the envelope and read the few words of the message:

"_I trust this night will bring you more satisfaction than I will ever give you!_

_Geishas are masters in the art of pleasure so you are in perfect hands._

_Please do not insult them by refusing their services; it would be a great dishonour for them to return to their house without fulfilling their mission._

_P.S.: If it helps close your eyes and imagine I'm there instead of them."_

"Damn woman!", Seya muttered angry, shoved the letter into one of his pockets and reached for his phone. He had her number but he never intended to use it…that is until that very annoying moment…He diled the number and went behind the bar, observing from a distance the way the three women captivated his brothers with their perfect movement and sensual voice.

Haruka was watching a movie, almost falling asleep on her living room couch when she heard her phone and lazily reached for it.

"Hello!", she said yawning,

"Hello!", came an angry voice from the other end of the line,

"Who is this?", she asked not recognizing the man's voice or the caller number,

"Don't act innocent! You know very well who I am! "

The sleepy mood rapidly vanished when she recognised Seiya's angry voice: "Oh, Hello Seiya!"

"What are these three women doing in my apartment?", he was not happy, and his questions took her by surprise,

She miscalculated expecting his reaction to her little prank in the morning, not considering the possibility of him having her phone number, so she decided to deny any involvement in the matter, for the moment.

"What are you talking about?"

"Cut the bullshit! You sent three geishas to my apartment with some _very funny_ message!", the anger in his voice made her smile: _"Bull's eye!" _she thought but answered him as innocent as she could:

"I did no such thing!...But if you have three geishas in your apartment you should seize the opportunity!", she was almost giggling, "I hear they are extremely skilful!"

"I could almost believe you!", his angry voice came again, "But their blonde hair gave you away!"

"Really?", she said now openly laughing,

"Nice touch, but completely gave you away!"

"Yeah…But it was worth it!", she answered smiling,

"You realise I'm not going to have sex with any of these women!", he said, his anger slightly diminishing,

"That was never my purpose.", she was giggling, "I only wanted to show you what you couldn't have! The irony of it is that nobody is stopping you from enjoying their presence but yourself."

"You know with this jokes you are only making me more determined to make you mine!", he said calmly,

"Maybe you're right… or maybe one of these days you're going to make love to one of them…", she said in a sensual tone,

"Make love?", Seiya asked puzzled by her choice of words,

"Yes…make love…", her voice again soft and sensual.

Those two simple words coming from her made him tense: it was like the sounds had transformed into invisible soft fingers barely caressing his lips.

"You know?…", she continued, "when you give your entire self to somebody…no logic…just a feeling so powerful it scares you… you can't understand it but you know it's love…"

Seiya knew what love was, or at least he knew how the dictionary or other people described it, but her voice made it sound different, not something that you hear about and is almost every time a perfectly rehearst lie; coming from her lips it sounded like love was right in front of him, all he needed to do was to reach out his hand and touch it.

He felt that the answer to her question was _no_ but he stubbornly said: "Yes…"

"Liar…", came het soft but steady answer, "You have no idea how it feels like to make love to somebody…to get completely lost in a pure kiss…nothing compares to touching the body of the one you love…nothing feels as wonderful as being touched by the person you love…", she smiled wickedly, her eyes glowing in the dark living room and she continued in a soft sensual whisper: "Close your eyes …and imagine…"

Seiya's body listened to her demand before he could gain control; now there was only her voice, playing with his imagination:

"Just think about it…making love…touching and equally being touched…kissing and being kissed…", her voice was low and sensual, "There's nothing in the entire Universe that matters…only the two of you… the only thing you have to do is reach out and touch her…make her yours…only yours…forever…", Haruka's voice was just a delicate whisper, "She's standing right in front of you…you can hear her soft voice…she's waiting for you…she's calling you…you have to do something…you have to act…GO to her!" Seiya almost took an involuntary step towards his living room eyes closed and all, when the sound of broken glass brought him back to reality: he had fallen into her nicely crafted trap:

"You're good…", he said, a smile forming on his lips,

"I know!", came her giggling voice,

"But not good enough…"

Haruka was openly laughing: "You have no idea how good I am!..."

"Why don't you come over here and show me?", he challenged her,

"Don't insult me with such obvious and silly clichés!", she answered still amused,

"Coward!", he tried one more time,

"Not working!", she said,

"Fine! But I will make you have sex with me!"

"Not tonight!", Haruka answered amused,

"I'll prefer it during the day so I can see your face when you give in to me…", Seiya smiled devilishly,

"You're still in a dream world…", she said preparing to hang up, "Have a nice night!"

"Don't worry I will!",

Seiya abandoned his phone on the bar and headed for the bathroom…after the conversation he needed a shower…a very cold shower...


End file.
